Football 2013: Gaylord brings the beef as it begins to climb upward

GAYLORD — Thursday marks the return of Will Cleaver to the Gaylord football sidelines as the team opens the 2013 season against Cheboygan.

Cleaver’s return brings with it the memory of the plethora of points, yards and records that accompanied his first stint as coach.

From 2000-2007, Gaylord entered the playoffs five times and posted only one season below .500.

But the Regional Final playoff run occurred 11 years ago, and since Cleaver departed, the Gaylord program has clawed and fought for yardage on the offensive side of the ball.

According to Cleaver, the early returns on his team have been positive.

“I thought we have definitely improved since starting the season,” Cleaver said. “We have some kids that are pretty good football players.”

The Blue Devil air attack starts with a big group of receivers.

“We’ve got a slew of them,” Cleaver said. “We have six receivers pushing each other to start, and I see all of them getting playing time.”

That group includes Robb Trelfa, Leland Huey, Lance Chapman, Tristan Gregory, Matt Kempfer, Matt Jenkins and Sam Rinke. It means Gaylord has the luxury of strong kids with good hands who can be fresh on every play.

Junior quarterback Steven Fitzek takes the reigns of the offense after starting the final couple games of 2012 with some success.

“Steven’s done a really nice job,” Cleaver said. “I’m pleased with how fast he has been able to pick up the offense and very pleased with how well he’s progressed.”

Behind Fitzek, Cotton Neff could break a tackle any moment and sophomore Shane Foster combines speed, power and size. Junior Collin Watters return as an All-Big North Conference end.

The offensive line is deceptively large. Sophomore Kyle Augustine measures 6 feet 2 and weighs in at 295 pounds, and junior Tanner Jones is 6 feet 3 and 240 pounds. In addition, senior Blake Miller brings experience along with senior Nathan Kwapis and junior Will Stecker.

“This is certainly more beef that I have had since 2001 and even they were not as tall as some of these guys,” Cleaver said.

The defensive line will see similar faces with the addition of senior Nick Parker and junior Marcus O’Rourke.

“(Parker) had a great scrimmage, and Marcus O’Rourke has his motor running on high all the time (at nose guard),” Cleaver said. “He never seems to slow down. He’s a lot of fun to watch.”

Billie Johnson also will play a role on the defensive line.

Watters also returns as a starter at linebacker.

Gaylord soccer standout Ben Fry will handle the field goals this season with Brad Byrne returning as the punter.

With a Big North Conference schedule against teams splattered with Division 1 college athletes and a difficult nonconference schedule, expectations at Gaylord remain conservative.

“Obviously, I would like to be a playoff team, but I don’t know if that is a realistic goal for this season,” Cleaver said. “Honestly, I try to take it one practice and one game at a time. It’s hard to go farther than that with what we have going in the conference this year and our nonconference opponents.”